John Challoner

John Challoner MP (c. 1520–1581) was the first Secretary of State for Ireland, appointed by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1560. He also sat at different times as a member of parliament in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Ireland. He should not be confused with his contemporary, Alderman John Challoner, Mayor of Dublin between 1556 and 1557, who died in 1565.

John Challoner was born around 1525 to Margaret Myddleton and Roger Challoner (c. 1490–1550). Roger Challoner was a London silk merchant, a Gentleman-Usher of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VIII of England, and a Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer; it is recorded that he obtained the fishing rights of Galway City in 1538. Both John and his brother Francis Challoner settled in Dublin: their brother was the Elizabethan ambassador and statesman, Sir Thomas Chaloner.

John Challoner was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1541 and had begun a career by 1547 in the English-ruled outpost of Calais, on mainland France, as an auditor. He was a member of parliament in the Parliament of England in 1555 and it is thought he may have sat for the constituency of Calais. It is not clear at what stage Challoner resettled in Ireland, but his move may have been prompted by the final loss of Calais to French forces in 1558.

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